Mersin back to Karpas Gate, Cyprus, Friday 8th June

The Diary of Sonsy Lass
Alex & June Laidlaw
Sun 10 Jun 2012 18:29
35:08.03N 33:56.82E Another early start, up at 4am and out of the harbour for 4.30am, in very light winds and a smooth sea state. We are desperate for a good blow to get some true sailing instead of this motor sailing. The evening at Karpas Gate was a traditionally British affair. The local restaurant owner (an Englishman) is famed for his fish and chips. Therefore along with some 70 fellow yachties, we made a beeline for the 'chippie'. As you can imagine, we were not disappointed. Fish and chips served up with mushy peas and a South African red, went down a treat. Next day, Saturday, as the programme had been completely screwed up, we had a bit of free time and this was was perhaps the hottest day so far, reaching well into the 90's. As we were up to date with most of the maintenance and cleaning, we spent the day chasing a decent Wi-Fi connection and doing a little advance cooking for the freezer. The marina bar had the rugby on for most of the day and as many of you will be aware, there were some interesting results. The evening was relatively quiet with no commitments and this gave us the opportunity to get our heads down at a reasonable time. On Sunday we left Karpas Gate Marina and headed towards Famagusta, 53NM. We were up at the crack of dawn with the usual boring sunrise reflecting on the flat calm seas. The route was up the northern side of the panhandle of Northern Cyprus and down the other side to Famagusta. This is where AL left Cyprus in 1959 (yawn) in a troop ship bound for the UK. He says 'a good job well done', perhaps the locals would say differently!! On the way down to Famagusta, we passed Monastery Bay. This is where St Andrew (patron Saint of Scotland and of seafarers) landed after coming from Palestine. The problems in Lebanon have forced the organising committee to hastily arrange an anchorage in the outer harbour of Famagusta. The anchorage leaves much to be desired, as we are anchored between two rust buckets that haven't moved since Adam was a boy! This really taker the glamour out of sailing, but as some of you would say, there was no glamour there in the first place! As the wind increased significantly whilst anchoring, which made it a tad challenging, the evening was to be a cook in on board with a few glasses of wine and Sonsy Lass swinging in whichever way the wind takes her.